The Arc’s Justice Advocacy Guide

Chapters of The Arc play a key role in helping victims and suspects obtain justice in a system where disability isn’t regularly identified or understood. The goal of this guide is to provide chapters with ideas on what can be done when involvement with the criminal justice system occurs, whether the person with a disability is a victim, witness or suspect. It provides detailed information for chapter staff and others in the disability field with the knowledge and understanding needed to be effective advocates.

Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment (CAPE)

World Institute on Disability created a comprehensive training curriculum in English and Spanish to educate people with disabilities, services providers, and family members about abuse awareness and prevention strategies. CAPE (Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment) explores fundamental issues of abuse, best-practices training approaches, and personal stories of resisting and recovering from abuse. CAPE focuses particularly on preventing abuse by anyone in a “helping role,” including informal or paid assistants, family members, and services providers. (2009)

Illinois Imagines

Illinois Imagines is a statewide project to improve services to women with disabilities who have been victims of sexual violence. The project is directed by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois rape crisis centers, disability service agencies and self-advocates. Collaborative teams have been established in 30 communities across the state.

Protect, Report, Preserve: Abuse Against Persons with Disabilities

From Building Partnerships Initiative, this video and training manual assists providers in fulfilling their legal obligation to train their employees to recognize and report abuse against persons with disabilities. This 25-minute training video was produced for staff providing services to persons with disabilities and provide a better understanding of the mandated reporter law as well as how and where to report suspected abuse of persons with disabilities. The Massachusetts State Police, through their training academy, provide a forty-hour sexual assault certification course and a forty-hour basic investigation certification course to APS investigators from the Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC), Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) charged with conducting investigations of allegations of abuse committed against persons with disabilities.

Safer Options Manual: Developing Best Practices Treatment for People who have Intellectual Disabilities and Offending or Problematic Sexual Behavior

The purpose of this manual is to support the development and implementation of community based treatment programs for people with disabilities who have problematic and/or sex offending behavior. While specific to Pennsylvania, it provide general information on ethics, sexuality, risk assessment, treatment, supervision, treatment teams, as well as training and support for staff. The Safer Options Train-the-Trainer curriculum can assist agencies in developing a process for supporting individuals with very serious, complex and at times dangerous sexual behavior. While no training can eliminate liability, providing effective training like this one can help reduce it significantly. (2010)

Stop the Violence, Break the Silence Training Guide & Resource Kit

This curriculum provides comprehensive information, handouts and activities for workshops or presentations about abuse against people with disabilities, increasing access to domestic and sexual violence services and promoting collaborations between disability service providers and domestic violence and rape crisis centers. The content is designed for a variety of audiences, including domestic violence and sexual assault agencies, disability service providers and people with disabilities.

Under Arrest—Understanding the Criminal Justice Process in Pennsylvania

A DVD and companion informational guide produced by the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University in Philadelphia that educates the general public about the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania. It's a step-by-step review of the process—from the arrest, through the preliminary arraignment, preliminary hearing, arraignment, trial, sentencing and possible incarceration. The 30-minute DVD illustrates the criminal justice system from the perspective of law enforcement, judiciary and corrections.